A possibly interesting statistic: there were 21 councils in which the Liberal
Democrats lost 7 or more seats on Thursday. The total loss across these seats
was 255. In other words, across the rest of England the party made net gains
(just). By comparison, the top 21 councils for gains saw the party make total
gains of 134 seats. So the overall result does seem to have been particularly
skewed by a small number of particularly bad results. Intellectual hat tip: Pigeon
Post
Laurence says he is "still trying hard to remain a Lib Dem under difficult circs". Laurence mate, my door is always open...
20 comments:
Ahem! If the bottom 21 councils must be ignored becauce they will skew the results, the top 21 must be too! The you are left with an equal number towards the middle. And what does that show? They still lost far more seats than they won. What have they to blame for these losses? And let's remember, they came fourth in Wales and Scotland, behins Labour, the Nationalists and the Conservatives.
If they can't do well this year, when can they?
Is that the front door, Iain? Do you really want failures like this coming in through the front?
Don't be so generous!
I've just realised it's the Mr Bean look-a-like who was on 18DS the other night! He sounded quite sensible then!
What do I know - he's a LD so he says one thing to you and another to me!
Thanks Iain. I’ve been tempted before, but I’ve just applied the necessary antidote from the 18DS archives! I recommend you and Shane interviewing John O’Sullivan as the perfect “corrective” for anyone who might be wavering ;-)
in wales the lib dems are falling apart. one of their AMs is plotting to oust their leader you can see it on his blog
its peter black btw ;)
“ Wavering from the Liberals ?”
Wavering from what exactly. The devolution , unionist high tax low tax socially conservative and liberal party. They defeat the will to comprehend and have little idea the contempt they are held in by almost everyone else .I don’t see how you can properly call the Liberals a Party at all. Its more of a Franchise you just get a few whining "local activist"..( ie lonely ugly people) and they provide a trade mark a set of stickers et Robert est Votre oncle. They only exist as an affectation.
Pack has previous in misrepresenting to the point where it is indistinguishable from a lie he is typical of Franchise. Look at the Liberals ‘negotiating’ Scotland when they are , supposedly a Union Party . Not that they care about the country ,however you define it though , preferring its enemies given the choice. They want to inflict PR on us oh goody , the constitutional attributes of a Byzantine harem as we now see in the blasted land of the pictish horde. They say they politics are the new politics of compromise and federal structure. In fact it is the oldest profession in the world and said harem is suiting the as we knew it would. Apart from traitorous instincts and political opportunism I really cannot see any core principle whatsoever. This inability to be a formless home for wastrels is what is slowly killing the Liberal party communications are too quick now .
I was watching Nick Clegg on any questions from the audience the other day and as he basked in the Metropolitan anti Iraq war approval ,prattling inconsequentially and dully I wondered how we had managed to find any Conservative to make him appear to have gravitas exceeding that of six year old girl. In Frances Maude it was achieved . Maude really is a wooden top I started to look forward to Harriet Harman
Is that a working definition of hell on earth ? I think so.
Don't think the Lib Dems have woken up to the full horror of their position.
They have been losing ground to the Conservatives - even before David Cameron organised the liberal conservative group hug.
They only win up North because tribal Labour is fed up and either votes in protest or won't vote. The one thing Gordon Brown will do is get the tribal Labour vote out.
The Lib Dems are in far deeper trouble than the polls suggest. Quite a few Lib Dem MPs need to be dusting down their CV's or figuring out how to justify defecting.
It’s true that the Lib Dems started shipping water quite badly under Charles Kennedy, and alcohol was far from being the only problem. It’s all been masked by record levels of MP’s in Westminster, but that is exactly what we should expect in the present climate. MP’s should have been up to three figures by now, but it would have required a clear direction in favour of the modernisers and away from the sandal-wearers. That they passed over the competent performer Chris Huhne for leader was a very bad sign. So while Cameron is ascendant, muddled incoherence now beckons for the Lib Dems.
This Lib Dem claim that 21 councils skewed this result betrays the extent of their self delusion.
It illustrates how far the Lib Dems have retreated into a cosy cubby hole of denial, as dangerously detached from reality as the bunkers of their pals Blair and Broon.
These 21 councils were lost because of the collapse of Lib Dem support.
That collapse was brought about by the desertion of lifelong Liberals, many of us old style Liberals and seasoned local campaigners, who are sickened by Lib Dem subservience to the corrupt EU, sickened by their subservience to corrupt, warmongering nulab and sick to the back teeth of their consequent betrayal of community politics and democratic process. We've watched with horror as Lib Dem councils and Ming have been hijacked by nulab.
Liberals in our millions are switching our - qualified - support to the Conservatives because they are becoming the tolerant, broad church which the Liberals once were. This support is 'qualified' support because every time Cameron makes an authoritarian, anti-democratic or wildly utopian statement he evokes Blair and nulab - and the spectre of nulab is so repellent that many would rather spoil our ballot papers than vote for a nulab clone.
The vote switch of disaffected Lib Dems was a key factor underlying Conservative success - and Lib Dem failure - in these elections.
If the Lib Dems want to hide in the bunker of denial of those 21 councils they must ask themselves why they lost them.
Why did Lib Dems win control in Harlow a few years back then shortly lose it? Why did they fall even further behind in Harlow and so many other towns in these elections?
Because they've got into bed with Blair, Broon and nulab and betrayed democracy and the people, that's why.
Auntie Flo'
Auntie Flo'
You do get your nickers in a twist -tolerant,broad church?
It's all NuCon spin-snake oil sales stuff!
If your an old fashioned liberal as you say you are then join the Liberal Party.
Newmania
Aren't you moving house?How about to Northern Ireland.Not so much wavering there.
One picture from Harlow's local newspaper exemplifies for me why nulab and the Lib Dems are haemorrhaging support and why the Conservatives are beating them.
It shows local nulab and Lib Dem councillors around a large placard depicting a huge pair of threatening, wild cat eyes, below which the large legend states:
"WE'RE WATCHING YOU
Don't mess up our town"
These councillors and their parties are the very ones who have bent over backwards to reinforce on a local basis the government's erosion of civil liberties, increasing centralised control and the erosion of local government accountability.
It's councillors like them, all over the country, who are colluding with the government's drive to transform England into a massively intrusive and privacy gobbling surveillance society.
They're afraid of us out here. They view us people as irresponsible, untrustworthy and to be watched and controlled like little children while councils, quangos and government do what the heck they like and answer to no one except briefly and periodically to the electorate
Who the heck do these arrogant , tin pot tyrants think they are?
Little wonder so few of us will now vote for them.
Well now the people have shown such councillors what they are for, there to serve, not to control - and dispensible when they refuse to acknowledge this.
Auntie Flo'
Manfarang said...
Auntie Flo'
You do get your knickers in a twist. It's all NuCon spin-snake oil sales stuff!
If your an old fashioned liberal as you say you are then join the Liberal Party.
You have to be nulab, Lib Dem or Green, manfarang, only one of those could be sufficiently arrogant to believe they have the right to dictate to me how I should vote.
Auntie Flo'
Lib-Dem spin reminds me of the old Yiddish saying: "If my grandmother had balls she'd be my grandfather."
Auntie Flo'
You won't get much chance to vote for the Liberal Party.
Manfarang said...
Auntie Flo'
Stop evading my question, manfarang and nail your colours to the mast.
Auntie Flo'
Auntie Flo'
Seri Thai Party.
manfarang said;
Seri Thai Party.
Wasn't that a WW2 Tai freedom movement? Are they still a party?
Auntie Flo'
Auntie Flo'
Its spirit lives on.
I should also mention the Karen National Union.
The Karens are a people who resisted the Japanese occupation of Burma and have been fighting a long running war since.The British reneged on their promise of an independant homeland for the help they gave against the Japanese.
Many Karens have been displaced and are living in refugee camps along the border with Thailand.
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